July 13, 2023
… it is such an honor for us to receive an award named for a hero like Pat …
Head athletic trainer for the Buffalo Bills football team Nate Breske accepting the Pat Tillman Award For Service on behalf of the Bills’ training and medical staff for their life-saving efforts taken for NFL player Damar Hamlin in January.
The Pat Tillman Award For Service is an award established in memory of former NFL player Pat Tillman, who after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 chose to enlist in the U.S. Army and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He was killed in action while serving in Afghanistan in 2004. The award is presented to an individual or a group "with a strong connection to sports that has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger" (ABC News). Read more about Pat Tillman HERE.
Why It Matters: On Wednesday night at the 2023 ESPYS (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly), with tears in his eyes, Hamlin presented the Pat Tillman Award For Service to his team's training staff who helped to save his life after he suffered cardiac arrest during a game in January. Bills assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington performed CPR on Hamlin on the field. Hamlin has since recovered, and has plans to play in the fall.
When accepting the award on behalf of the Bills' staff, Breske said, "By the grace of God and divine intervention, we had the best outcome we could have prayed for or imagined." He said, "If there is one thing we hope you take away from this tonight, learn CPR and how to use an AED, because they save lives. … You don't have to be perfect. We always say, 'Doing something is better than doing nothing.'"
Bills training staff receives Pat Tillman Award in honor of life-saving efforts for Damar Hamlin
by Jenna Lee,
